Free Republic

You probably have already made up your mind about same-sex marriage. You’ve probably had people try to change your mind about it and had to stand up for your position. Whatever your thoughts on same-sex marriage are, this topic is extremely volatile. In this article, I will not be attempting to argue for LGBTQ rights (the “inclusive” position) or biblical marriage (the “traditional” position). I simply want to suggest that this is a true wedge issue that will indeed divide us. The conversation needs to shift from trying to convince each other to a pragmatic discussion of where we go...

n 2016, the frontline of the war against the legitimacy of the Jewish state isn’t Gaza or Israel’s northern border — or even the Golan Heights. It is the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to terminate the Jewish state by delegitimizing it in the world community. This ugly campaign plays out on our nation’s college campuses, including most recently at the University of California-Irvine, where campus police had to intervene to save (mostly) Jewish women from “activists” protesting a film about Israeli soldiers. BDS-ers, crafting their efforts as “pro-peace,” have had considerable success with mainline Protestant...

The top policy body for the United Methodist Church is struggling to avert a split over gay rights. The Methodist General Conference voted 428-405 to delay all discussion of church policy related to LGBT people during a meeting in Portland, Oregon. Delegates created a commission Wednesday to review all relevant church law on the subject over a period of at least two years, then hold a special meeting to discuss the way forward. …

The United Methodist Church is considering splitting over the full acceptance of gay members, according to reports by top clergy and advocacy groups. Church officials say the president of the Council of Bishops will address the rumor Tuesday in Portland, Ore., where the denomination is holding a major convention. The rumors about the United States’ third-largest faith group began spreading on social media Monday night, when some prominent pastors reportedly told crowds in Portland that a plan is in the works. Details about what the plan entails and who was on board with it were unconfirmed. United Methodist Church spokeswoman...

By Heather Hahn May 9, 2016 | PORTLAND, Ore. (UMNS) On the eve of the 2016 General Conference, more than 100 United Methodist clergy and clergy candidates have come out as LGBTQ religious leaders. “We are here because God has called us to serve in this denomination, and our souls are fed by the theology in which we’ve been raised,” the 111 United Methodists write in what they call “A Love Letter to Our Church.” The signers come from across the United States, and one signer is from the Philippines. They identify themselves as “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, and Intersex” in...

Dozens of United Methodist clergy members came out as lesbian, gay or bisexual on Monday, defying their church's ban on "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" serving in ministry and essentially daring their supervisors to discipline them. In a public letter posted online, 111 pastors, deacons, elders and candidates for ministry said church rules require "that we not bring our full selves to ministry, that we hide from view our sexual orientations and gender identities." "While some of us have been lucky to serve in places where we could serve honestly and openly, there are others in places far more hostile, who continue...

The United Methodist Church General Conference convenes once every four years to make policy decisions and set the direction for the denomination. Beginning Tuesday (May 10), 864 delegates, half of them clergy, will converge on the Oregon Convention Center in Portland for 10 days for the General Conference. More than 40 percent of those delegates will come from outside the U.S. They’ll consider 1,043 proposals listed in the conference’s legislation tracking system. Here are six of the most talked-about issues: 1. LGBT inclusion The United Methodist News Service tallied up more than 100 petitions alone on sexuality. Several plans have...

The voices of the people gathered at Broad Street United Methodist Church resounded from its wooden peaks as they each raised a hand on Saturday and blessed the Rev. David Meredith and Jim Schlachter on their wedding day. "Now that Jim and David have extended their 28-year commitment to one another with solemn vows, we announce to one another, the United Methodist Church, the state of Ohio and the world entire that they are married," the crowd said. With those words, Meredith joined the ranks of United Methodist ministers who have defied the denomination's rules and risk being defrocked by...

Adam Hamilton has once more entered into the fray of making pronouncements about what the Bible does and does not advocate when it comes to same sex sexual activity and same sex marriage, and you can read his post here, http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/6876/the-bible-homosexuality-and-the-umc-part-one only the first of four such posts leading up to the General Conference in a couple of weeks. My concern is with the misinterpretation of the Bible in this post as well as the misrepresentation of Methodist cultural trends at various points and so once you’ve read what Adam says, then consider the following response. In the first place,...

One of the first United Methodist Church congregations to join the LGBT lobbying group, Reconciling Ministries Network, will close next month. St. Paul United Methodist Church of Denver, Colorado, a theologically liberal congregation that became the third church to become a Reconciling congregation, will soon close its doors. The Rev. Jessica Rooks, head of St. Paul UMC, told The Christian Post the final worship service will be held on Sunday, May 22. "St. Paul has opened its doors and built relationships with the LGBTQ community, the homeless and hungry in Denver, those struggling with addition, and individuals who struggle to...

On March 23, 2016, the Methodist Federation For Social Action posted an anonymous blog that made even the most jaded among us blush.Titled “#HandsOffMyBC” and authored by a United Methodist clergyperson, the blog made an emphatic case for universal access to birth control while also including these admissions: I chose to go on birth control because I didn’t want to get pregnant and I wanted to have sex. Because I am a clergy woman in The United Methodist Church, and I’m single, that information could get me brought up on charges, and I could lose my ordination.Luckily, I can access birth control...

The United Methodist Church has rejected an Intelligent Design group's request to have an information table at the denomination's 2016 General Conference. Reaffirming a decision from December, the UMC's Commission on the General Conference decided last week to not allow the Seattle-based Discovery Institute an information table at the Mainline Protestant denomination's gathering in Portland, Oregon. Diane Degnan, spokeswoman for the UMC, told The Christian Post that this was the first General Conference to allow for "outside exhibitors." "The Commission on the General Conference determined that the application by the Discovery Institute did not meet the guidelines established for exhibitors...

The slogan of the United Methodist Church (UMC) is "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors." But UMC officials are now under fire for being closed-minded and intolerant after they banned Discovery Institute, from sponsoring an information table at the denomination's upcoming General Conference in May. Intelligent design is the idea that life and the universe show evidence of being the result of purposeful design rather than unguided processes. "Preventing United Methodist leaders from even hearing about intelligent design isn't open-minded. It's intolerant and exclusionary," said Dr. John West, Vice President of Discovery Institute. "Maybe United Methodist officials should change their...

Pastor Drops Gay Bombshell in Middle of Sunday Sermon 6:00AM EST 1/15/2016 JENNIFER LECLAIRE We're seeing 1 Timothy 4:1 playing out right before our very eyes. It's called the Great Apostasy and it's well underway. "At last I am choosing to serve in that role with full authenticity and as my genuine self—as a woman who loves and shares my life with another woman." Those were the words of Cynthia Meyer, a pastor at Edgerton United Methodist Church, who decided to make her first sermon of 2016 a coming out party. Meyer, 53, has been an ordained UM pastor for...

It further notes: "There are specific times, however, when we must recognize that a company is very unlikely -- or unable to -- discontinue activities in certain parts of the world that we have classified as 'high-risk.' When activities in high-risk countries and areas represent a significant part of a company's business, we will avoid investing until the company has changed its business practices. Avoiding such investments supports our commitment to sustainable investing, which we believe ultimately improves the performance of our investment funds." Israel-Palestine, North Korea and several African and Middle Eastern countries round out a list of 14...

The pension board of the United Methodist Church -- one of the largest Protestant denominations in the United States, with more than seven million members -- has placed five Israeli banks on a list of companies that it will not invest in for human rights reasons, the board said in a statement on Tuesday. It appeared to be the first time that a pension fund of a large American church had taken such a step regarding the Israeli banks, which help finance settlement construction in what most of the world considers illegally occupied Palestinian territories. Wine being prepared for export...

The Boy Scouts of America may experience a severe backlash from church sponsors following its recent vote to approve openly gay scout leaders. A national organization boasting over 2.6 million members, many of the BSA's more than 37,000 troops come from churches that officially state that homosexuality is a sin. These include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the United Methodist Church, and the Southern Baptist Convention. Roger S. Oldham, spokesman for the SBC, told The Christian Post that Southern Baptist churches have been cutting ties with the BSA since 2013, when the youth organization voted to allow...

A congregation in Pennsylvania has voted overwhelmingly to leave the United Methodist Church over the growing debate that the mainline denomination is having regarding its position on homosexuality. Wesley Church, a congregation in Quarryville that has an average weekly worship attendance of about 650, voted to leave the UMC after months of discernment. Chris Lenhart, associate pastor at Wesley Church, told The Christian Post that leadership for the congregation saw a "considerable chasm forming between what Wesley believed and affirmed about the nature of God's word and what the denomination believed and affirmed about the nature of God's Word. "The...

An openly gay United Methodist pastor said his "I Dos" in front of more than 30 clergy members and 100 guests Friday, days after he was forced to resign for having a partner.The Rev. Benjamin Hutchison married his partner, Monty Hutchison, in a ceremony on the steps of the historic Cass County Courthouse.Hutchison called it a joyous occasion."Walking around the courthouse and seeing all the support, seeing all clergy there gathered standing there saying that they support it, they're not opposed to it, it really was a blessing today."Hutchison, 31, resigned earlier this week from his position as senior pastor...

The California Medical Association has withdrawn its opposition to the End of Life Option Act, SB 128. Disability rights advocates such as state Sen. Jim Beall voted for the bill in June after protections for the disabled were strengthened. And now the California-Pacific Conference of the United Methodist Church has come out in support of the law, similar to Oregon's, which would give Californians facing an imminent, excruciating death the right to end their lives peacefully if they choose. The Methodist conference joins other Protestant communities of faith representing 1.5 million members from 21 denominations in support of the law.